Category: Forensic Science Studies

The scope of Forensic Anthropology is increasing everyday. The preference of many killers to dump the bodies of their victims in remote sites means that most often the police have nothing but skeletal remains to aid in their investigation. It is then left to the forensic Anthropologist to use this flimsy evidence to shed some light on the case with his expertise.

Anthropology in Forensics deals with the study of skeletal remains in order to aid in a legal investigation. A few pieces of bones are all that a forensic Anthropologist trained in Osteology (the study of bones) needs to determine whether the evidence is at all human and if so the gender, age, physique and race of the person.

Anthropological evidence can also yield other clues like the approximate time of death (a piece of information that assumes vital importance when you have alibis in hand), the cause of death and even what illnesses and injuries the person might have suffered in his lifetime.

To elaborate, say the law enforcement officers are called upon to probe into the findings of skeletal remains. The Forensic Anthropologist has his work cut out for him. He has to first determine whether the bones at all belong to a human being. Next he has to determine the age, sex and approximate time of death. Without these pivotal bits of information, the investigation is practically stalled because this knowledge alone will help the police form some kind of an idea about the identity of the deceased.

If you are the Anthropology or the Forensic Osteology expert, the responsibility is also on you to determine the possible cause of death. That will determine whether the police have a case of homicide on their hands, or a case of death due to natural reasons.

With this crucial information in their arsenal the police can now go about hunting for suspects. Herein also the Forensic Anthropologist has quite a role to play. If you happen to be the Anthropology expert in this case, your estimated time of death will determine whether the man who is claiming to be away on a trip during the time the murder was committed can be ticked off from the suspect list.

The Anthropology branch of Forensic Science now finds application in Human Rights issues too. In particular the genocide cases of the recent past have garnered a lot of media attention. During the 1994 Rwanda civil war, Hutu extremists massacred 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsi people and it was left to the Forensic Anthropologist to attempt recovery and analysis of the remains.

The discovery of a mass grave in Croatia called into action the services of the Forensic Anthropologist and the Osteology expert to exhume, analyze and identify the skeletal remains.

With its ever-widening scope, Forensic Anthropology is fast becoming a lucrative career option.

Forensic DNA is the latest tool in criminal investigation. It is distinctly superior to other forensic tools like finger printing, ABO and HLA blood typing. DNA testing has achieved feats of crime detection unparalleled in the records of criminology.

Strengths DNA testing
It is much more discriminatory than other techniques. Complete blood group testing tells the odds of another having the same blood as the defendant as one in thousands and HLA typing says it is one in millions. Now compare the odds that DNA typing gives – one in billions.

DNA typing is very sensitive and is performed with DNA extracted from few hairs. Small samples can be amplified using polymerase chain reaction methods. This allows samples to be split into small amounts and sent to more than one laboratory for testing, thus reducing chances of errors.

Serologic testing requires blood but DNA testing requires only nucleated cells. DNA testing can therefore use, hair, urine, saliva, and other bodily fluids. DNA is more stable and long lasting than protein. While it does degrade with time it is less susceptible to environmental degradation than protein. DNA from skeletons has been used to identify dead soldiers.

Limitations of DNA testing
Earlier criticisms of DNA testing have been effectively countered by improved and standardized testing methods.

A valid criticism of DNA testing pertains to “Allele frequencies” used for identification. Allele frequencies differ between population sub-groups. A specific Allele under test may have a frequency of 4% among Asians and 1% among northern Europeans. But experts concluded that frequency of one in ten million or hundred millions made little difference. However, in principle this remains a valid limitation of DNA technique.

DNA Testing Techniques
DNA testing techniques show the difference in length between DNA sequences. Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) are used for the same purpose when samples are small or partly degraded.

There are two types of DNA fingerprinting, namely

Single locus DNA fingerprinting
This identifies polymorphism at a single locus and uses specific probes or PCR primers. From this method a DNA genotype is obtained. This method is used when DNA is degraded or the sample is mixed.

Multilocus DNA fingerprinting
This identifies simultaneously polymorphism at multiple loci. This is done by multiple single probes or a single probe, which identifies multiple similar sequence polymorphisms. In the latter case, a phenotype rather than a genotype is obtained. This method provides more information than the first one.

Applications
DNA typing matches sample from a site to that obtained from the suspect. Technically it does not determine if the sample comes from the suspect but rather gives the statistical probability of the sample not belonging to the suspect. A miniscule probability proves he is guilty. DNA testing has convicted and also acquitted suspects. In many cases acquittal was followed by conviction of the true culprit.

Forensic DNA testing has been successfully used in a variety of crimes. It has also been used to determine parentage and proving family relationships.

Forensic nursing, a new phenomenon to many is one of the recent specialty areas acknowledged by the American Nurses Association or ANA. According to the International Association of Forensic Nursing or IAFN, forensic nursing practice is an application of nursing science to public or legal proceedings. It goes without saying that forensic nursing bridges between the criminal justice system and the health care system.

Under forensic nursing, investigation is done on the potential causes of morbidity and mortality in a variety of cases. And these include the investigation as well as treatment of victims of sexual assault, elder, child and spousal abuse, unexplained or accidental death, trauma and assault.

The nurses are not only required to amass evidence from perpetrators and survivors of brutal crime but also testify in the court as a fact witness or an expert witness. On the other hand, they can also comprehend evidence collection like for instance forensic photography on demand.

An estimated 7,500 nurses have dedicated their lives for investigating deaths or treating violent offenders at psychiatric facilities. Forensic nursing has become indispensable in recent past, thanks to the continuous rise in crime rates.

You might as well be surprised that forensic nursing has turned out to be a fructifying career option nowadays. You can avail degree programs in forensic nursing. All you need is education, training and a nursing license. If you are wondering why choose forensic nursing as your career option, then you must know that there is a huge demand for nurses with these specialized skills.

What it takes to be a forensic nurse? Well, all that is required of you is to have interviewing skills, scope of practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, identification of nursing roles, and testifying in court as an expert witness, and not to mention the skill of evidence collection with documentation. And beyond that you must understand the legal issues, which revolve round the expert testimony in legal proceedings. Knowledge of DNA-laboratory reports, forensic chemistry, toxicology, blood spatter interpretation, manner and mechanisms of injury, wound identification is also required.

Acute healthcare facilities, insurance companies, correctional institutions, coroner’s offices, county prosecutors, medical examiner’s offices, and psychiatric facilities are the employers of forensic nursing specialists. Forensic psychiatric nursing is a sub-specialty of forensic nursing that provides suitable psychological counseling and care for crime victims.

Forensic nursing becomes even more essential as observation, documentation, and preservation of evidence are critical in shaping the legal outcome of fierce crimes.

Forensic Psychology is all about mind matters. That is, this branch of Forensics aims to prevail over the criminal mind in order to corner him. Forensic Psychiatry is an emerging field and it has already notched up quite a few feathers on its cap by clinching a few cases. And there seems to be no dearth of interest surrounding it, courtesy the media coverage of the Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy and Andrea Yates cases and a spate of films of the issue like Hannibal and Silence of the Lambs.

The area of operation of Forensic Psychiatry covers a broad spectrum. And criminal profiling is one area, and quite a new one at that, that is drawing all the attention. This involves chalking out the mental make-up of an offender from the crime scene particulars (like the positioning of the victim’s body and the nature of the wounds inflicted) when physical evidence is scarce. This profile can in turn be used by the police to either hunt for or pinpoint a suspect.

The Forensic Psychiatry expert is also called into action when it comes to issues like deciding on child custody. A sensitive area no doubt, given the fact that in most divorce cases the bone of contention between the parents just happens to be the child who doesn’t understand why his parents are fighting in the first place.

Forensic Psychiatry has a presence in the civil law field too. It is all about evaluating the emotional impact of a situation on a person. The psychiatrist has to determine whether the messy wife taking the trial is actually distressed at her husband’s murder or the “crocodile tears” are just a ploy to dispel the arrows of suspicion away from her.

In the civil law scenario, the Forensic Psychologist also has to assess the bearing of a particularly traumatic event on someone or suggest the course of treatment for a sexual assault victim.

Criminal Law is one area where Forensic Psychiatry finds widespread usage, with the expert being called upon to judge whether a person is capable of standing up to a trial. An expert in this field also advises the court in matters regarding sentence terms, probation issues and conditions of parole, of course after ascertaining the chances of the offender repeating his crime.

Forensic Psychiatry finds widespread use in determining the authenticity of insanity plea claims. And with defendants frequently using the insanity excuse to get away from everything from arson to assassination, robbery to rape, the Forensic Psychiatry specialist has his hands full.

Forensic Psychology is not just about the darker side of the human mind; it is actually about shedding light on the mental intricacies to help a case progress.

Forensic science primarily deals with criminal investigation. This field of science relates to several disciplines in course of criminal inquiry. Forensic is an essential part of criminal investigation that needs to be judged in the court before the final verdict is stated. In fact, forensic evidence in court can cause a dramatic change in a case and point towards new dimensions in the course of action.

Another remarkable contribution of Forensic is to identify distinctiveness between firearms and projectile and at times between projectile and target. For instance, when a gun is produced in the court and is being identified as the tool utilized in the crime, then the bullet from the victim’s body is matched with the gun to see how far the evidence produced in court matches with the scene of crime. Forensic also involves tool mark identification. The science of forensic also includes explosives and tracks evidences and contributes to justice likewise:

Forensic Psychiatry And Profiling

Forensic psychiatry deals with psychological illnesses and disorders. In this part of forensic, the investigator investigates deeper into the darker aspects of human mind to find out reasons as to how the mental abnormality of an individual makes him lose control and commit a crime. On the other hand profiling is that aspect of forensic criminology where the investigator examines the crime scene to offer a personality profile of the criminal.

Role Of Document In Forensic

Forensic is that particular discipline which also deals with concepts like forgery, counterfeiting, handwriting analysis and other related sub disciplines. In many cases where an attempt is made to make a murder look like a suicidal case either by leaving a false suicidal note written by someone else and not by the victim or forcing the victim to write a letter before committing the murder. In both cases, a forensic expert would be able to draw a fair conclusion as to what has been the actual case and forward his opinion in relation to the validity of the letter.

Forensic Personal Identification

The matter of personal identification is about how a forensic expert identifies an individual on the basis of fingerprints, DNA analysis, odontology and other sub disciplines. In many cases, a forensic expert helps in identifying a criminal by matching his fingerprints with those found on the weapon being used to commit the murder. Again, in case of female physical assault a forensic expert identifies the culprit by means of a DNA test.

Crime Scene Processing In Forensic

Crime scene processing involves all features of the science of forensic. The concept relates how all-forensic scientific features come together in analyzing a crime scene, collecting evidences, tagging and bagging evidences and experimenting with evidences in the laboratory.

Some Of The Major Scientific Disciplines In Forensic

1. Forensic Accounting – It is the study of accounting and understanding forensic evidences in Financial terms.
2. Forensic Toxicology – It is a kind of study to understand how drugs and poisons affect human body
3. Forensic economics – Economic damages are analyzed in relation to lost value of a business.
4. Forensic entomology – It is a discipline where the forensic expert examines insects, around human carcass to determine time the location and other aspects of death
5. Forensic engineering – This discipline is the study of causes regarding failure of devices and structures

These are just a few to mention from the list. In fact, forensic science disciplines are endless. This is because there is no end to the unpleasant crafting of human mind to commit crime.

Which would be the best Forensic Science College? This is obviously the primary query you have if you are planning to pursue a career in forensic science. To become a professional you certainly need to attend the best college and pick the right subjects to make the grade. Here is a list of the most applicable courses for you to choose from a list of colleges given below:

The George Washington University Department of Forensic Sciences:

This premier institute offers the following courses:

1. Certificate in Forensic Investigation
2. Master of Forensic Sciences
3. Master degree emphasizing on various options like Crime Scene Investigation, Forensic Molecular Biology, Forensic Chemistry, Forensic Toxicology, High Technology Crime Investigation and Security Management
4. Five-Year Bachelor of Science/Master of Science in Forensic Chemistry
5. Master of Science in Forensic Science emphasizing on streams like Forensic Molecular Biology, Forensic Chemistry and Forensic Toxicology

Besides the basic criterion set by the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, you must complete a program of 36 credit hours of certified course content. Within the 36-hour credit condition, you must have atleast one credit of FORS 295 (research) in the area of specialization. And also you must clear a written Master’s Comprehensive Examination in your specialization.

Michigan State University: It offers a Forensic Science Master’s Program

The varsity offers courses in criminal justice, forensic science and law. You can also conduct field study and practice during research in the university’s own state-of-the-art forensic science laboratory. The course ensures that students get both comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge in the scientific, legal, and investigative components of forensic science as well as a specialization in one of the key subjects. You can specialize in Forensic Chemistry, Forensic Biology and Forensic Anthropology. You could either opt for one specialization or go for a first and second option while applying for the curriculum.

Guilford College: This college offers options in the fields of Fingerprint Analysis, DNA Fingerprinting and Blood Evidence and Forensic Anthropology.

School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics: This institute offers two programs one in Master of Science in Criminal Justice and another Master of Science in Criminalistics. The former brings you two options, one in Administration and one in Forensic Mental Health. The latter offers a concentration in the application of science to the legal system.

All these institutes prepare you for a satisfying career in forensic science. So just go ahead and decide on your specialization. Then close your eyes and pick on the forensic science college that will make your dreams come true.

With thugs and criminals getting smarter by the day, it is only evident that the various Forensic Science types would also re-invent themselves. Forensics hold the key to solving criminal investigations and in many a complex investigation, it may be even that all the braches of Forensic science are called into action.

Forensic dentistry
Forensic dentistry deals with the examination of dental evidence either to determine the identity of the victim or the offender. The teeth is one of the sturdiest components in the human body. And with only a charred corpse at his disposal, the Forensic dentist has to look to the dental remains and compare it to known dental records of the supposed victim to make a positive match. Forensic dentistry also comes into play when you have to deal with bite mark evidence to nab a crook.

Forensic toxicology
With drug abuse on a steady rise and the poisons getting harder and harder to detect, it is left to Forensic toxicology to provide the answers. And Forensic toxicology is not just about determining the type of poison used, that is, whether it was arsenic or lead that did the job. This branch of Forensic science is also widely used in drunken driving and substance abuse cases.

Forensic psychology
These days it has almost become routine to pull the trigger or drive the knife in and switch over to the “insanity plea” mode instantly. So it is left to Forensic psychology to determine the authenticity of the claims. In fact, this branch of Forensic science finds usage in various legal matters like child custody disputes, child abuse, determining competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility and advising judges in matters relating to sentencing. Psychological profiling of the offender to pinpoint possible suspects has also become a common forensic practice.

Forensic entomology
Killers have this uncanny ability to scoop up the remotest of locations to dump their victims, which remain undiscovered for days on end. Most often it is left to Forensic entomology to determine the exact time of death based on the activities of flesh-feeding maggots and insects on the carcass.

Forensic accounting
Forensic accounting is gaining precedence with more and more crimes relating to money matters being committed. This field of Forensic science deals with frauds concerning accounts and inventories, estimating financial damages and evaluating businesses. Forensic accounting nowadays also involves helping in investment analysis and research and also acting as advisors to audit committees.

Forensic engineering
Forensic engineering deals with the whys and wherefores behind faulty materials, products, structures or components. And this may not always be regarding criminal cases. Forensic engineering may be applied in civil cases also.

Forensic document examination
Forensic document examination is mainly involved with ascertaining the authorship and authenticity of a particular document. This might involve the scrutiny of the handwriting or some other components of the document and comparing them to a series of known parameters.

Forensic science has come a long way since fingerprinting was first used in a criminal investigation. Since then forensic psychology, dentistry, engineering, entomology, toxicology and the various other forensic science types have evolved to make getting away with crime that much harder.

If you remember the term ‘Eureka’, then you would also know where the History of Forensic Science started. History considers Archimedes (287-212 BC), the man behind the exclamation ‘Eureka,’ as the father of forensic science. He had exulted when he had found out that a crown was not made of gold, (as it was falsely claimed) by its density and buoyancy. After Archimedes we come to know of another early forensic science application by Soleiman, an Arabic merchant of the 7th century. He used fingerprints as a proof of validity between debtors and lenders.

In the 700s, the Chinese also used the fingerprint concept. In the 1000s, Quintilian, a prosecutor in the Roman courts, used a similar method to solve murders. The first document that mentions the use of Forensics in legal matters is the book Xi Yuan Ji Lu (translated as “Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified”) written in 1248 by Chinese author Song Ci.

Forensic science became quite widespread in 16th century Europe. Medics began to use their knowledge to investigate the cause of death. Ambrose Paré, a French army surgeon, two Italian surgeons, Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia were some of the pioneers in this field.

Then we have a series of written record like “A Treatise on Forensic Medicine and Public Health” by the French physician Fodéré and “The Complete System of Police Medicine” by the German medic Johann Peter Franck and the first dissertation on systematic document examination published by François Demelle of France. In 1686, Marcello Malpighi, a professor of anatomy at the University of Bologna, identified the fingerprint method.

In the 18th century, many scholars did some groundbreaking work in Forensics. Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele and German chemist Valentin Ross led the way. England also solved a number of murder cases using forensic science. For instance, in the year 1784 in Lancaster, John Toms was convicted of murder, when a torn bit of a newspaper in a gun was found matching a leftover paper in his pocket.

In the 19th century, scholars like Thomas Bewick, an English naturalist, Spanish professor of medicinal/forensic chemistry Mathiew Orfila, John Evangelist Purkinji, professor of anatomy at the University of Breslau, to name a few, made history in forensic science.

Eugène François Vidocq is another name in record since he established the first detective force, the Sûreté of Paris. Then can we forget Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote the first Sherlock Holmes case in Beeton’s Christmas Annual of London?

In the 20th century, there was no stopping the forensic timeline. It was the time when we got the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI launched its Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) with the first computerized scans. With the arrival of the computer, there was no looking back. Today there is no crime solving without forensic science. The History of Forensic Science is there to prove its worth.

If you have chosen a forensic science career, gear up for some great challenges. This is a career that is closely allied to crime and punishment, justice and law, human nature and its dark secrets. More scientifically, it is a vital arm of the legal investigative system.

For specialization, there are six options of practice in this profession:

Medical Examiner: This job requires nerves, for you have to deal with dead bodies all the time. The best paid in forensic science that requires a medical degree. Chemistry or biology at the undergraduate level is must. Crime detection and investigation as one of your electives can be an added advantage.

Crime Laboratory Analyst: This option is neater, assures good pay and better work hours. To specialize in this job, you must take off with a bachelor’s degree in a natural science. Chemistry major is ideal.

If you want to go for DNA testing, then biology with genetics and biochemistry is necessary. For specialization on trace evidence examination, you need a chemistry degree with electives from optical mineralogy, microbiology, botany and textile courses. The crime detection and investigation course is however a mandatory elective.

Crime Scene Examiner: Though a part of the elite crime-cracking team, this is a messy job. Nevertheless, the thrill makes up for it. You require a bachelor’s degree either in a natural science with stress on law enforcement and crime scene processing or a criminal justice degree with stress on natural science. Knowledge in forensic archeology is an advantage. You could also go for psychological profiling that involves a combination of crime scene investigation and psychology.

Academic assistance – psychologist, social scientist and statistician: These career options could land you a part-time investigative job. Currently there are full-time careers for psychological profilers.

Agencies often look for a combination of an investigator, crime scene analyst and psychologist in a single recruit. To qualify, you would need a double major in psychology and criminal justice and expertise as an investigator as well. Technical assistance such as computer analysis, polygraph and composite drawing also forms a part of this career.

Forensic Engineer: This occupation involves traffic accidents, fire investigations, and various unlawful incidents of injury. This career is similar to that of a crime scene examiner but you would deal less with dead bodies, have better work hours and better salary. The pay is higher because the post requires an engineering degree (go for either electrical, mechanical, civil, materials or traffic).

All this and much more is about the prospects of the most exciting professions for those who value justice and the rule of law. However, before you settle for a forensic science career, it is vital to get information about the tougher aspects of the job and no one can guide you better than a veteran.

The field of forensic engineering is the culmination of many different science disciplines. This subject has recently originated in it’s own right. Forensic engineering presently has a very low profile compared to forensic science, but this particular area of forensics looks into the matter when problem arises from product failure, which can happen due to poor manufacturing, inadequate materials or poor design.

This new kind of engineering course tells about good product design before development. The main emphasis is given to the fact that product design lies at the center of successful manufacturing, which can be anything like automobiles, aircrafts and televisions. Damage can arise at any stage of development, which gives the designer a fair idea as to what should be done in order to avoid such errors. Any new innovation must be secured either by patent or by registered design.

Forensics, today has gained much popularity due to its ability to answer questions of interest to the legal system. It can be anything from a civil to a crime action. Infact, if we use only the term forensic instead of forensic science, that’ll be considered wrong, since the word forensic denotes to ‘legal’, i.e. confined only to courts, but forensic is so much linked to scientific field, that the two terms go hand in hand.

Suppose you own a firm and it is on the verge of being sued due to the supply of defective products. Here comes the role of forensic engineers who investigate the cause of failure of consumer items. Likewise there is now a need for the investigation of fires, explosions, aircraft, automobile and train crashes.

Another utilization of forensic engineering comes in the field of civil engineering where the forensic engineers probe in construction accidents, structural and geotechnical failures, waterproofing and roofing failures.

Well, it is noticeable that are some similarities between forensic science and engineering such as the scene of crime and scene of analysis of accident, integrity of the evidence and court appearances. Both the fields make extensive use of optical and scanning electron microscope. To examine critical evidences, there is wide usage of spectroscopy (infra-red, ultra-violet and nuclear magnetic resonance), though simpler problems are sufficed by hand lens.

If you want to get into the dual role of an investigator and an engineer, a career in forensic engineering is for you.